I got into the truck and headed right over to Spencer's. Jenna wanted to go to Philly to visit an old friend. Our parents were busy so of course I had to take her. After spending an entire day with Jenna I needed to get away from her, and I needed to get to Spencer.
It had been about a month since Spencer and I made up. We had put what happened behind us and we were pretty much back to normal. Or as Hanna kept saying, we were back to being an insanely-adorable couple. But this time we were trying harder to communicate better.
When I got to Spencer's I went through the back door as usual. I was surprised to find Melissa in the kitchen.
"Hi, Toby," She greeted me and then went back to cooking.
"Hi, Melissa, I didn't know you we here." I said just to make small talk.
"I decided to come down and visit for the weekend. I've been staying in the barn. But there's hardly any food in there and I'm having pregnancy cravings." She told me. "Sorry, I'm rambling and you probably don't care."
"Uh, it's fine. Um, do you know where Spencer is?"
"Oh yeah, she's upstairs. She went up to take a shower but she should be done by now."
"Thanks." I nodded to her and then went upstairs.
I opened the door to Spencer's room and saw her sitting on her bed. She was brushing her hair and I noticed that she was wearing a very familiar blue shirt.
"Hey, Spence,"
"Toby, hey, I missed you." She told me and a smile appeared on her face.
"I was only gone for one day, Spence." I laughed as I sat down next to her.
She placed her brush down on the bed, wrapped her arms around my waist, and laid her head on my shoulder.
"Yeah, but you were with Jenna the whole time so I was worried."
"I wasn't my first choice on how to spend my day but I survived. And I found out some useful information that could help us." I told her.
"What did you find out?" She immediately asked which didn't surprise me. "And I'm glad you survived and that you're here now."
"I'll tell you in a minute. But first I have to ask you something."
"What's that?" She asked and this time she raised her head in curiosity.
"You know that's my shirt right?"
"Yeah, and you're never getting back." She told me with a smile and her arms tightened around me.
"I don't want it back. You look better in it than I do." I told her and then leaned down to kiss her.
She kissed back and we sat there together on her bed for several minutes before we pulled apart to catch our breath.
"So, what did you find out?"
"Spence, come on, I just spent all day with Jenna. I want to relax a little and spend time with you before I start a possibly long conversation about Jenna and Garrett." I sighed.
"Alright, I'll wait." She sighed with complete exaggeration. "What do you want to do?"
"We can continue what we were doing a few seconds ago." I suggested.
"Hmmm, I think I can agree to that."
Her lips reconnected with mine as I leaned back against the pillows with her on top of me. My shirt came off rather quickly like it usually did and my hand got tangled in her long brown hair.
"Okay, I know it was my idea to wait." Spencer said a little breathless as she pulled away slightly. "But right now I'm completely forgetting why."
I kissed her again before replying.
"You'll remember why as soon as we stop making out on your bed. And it probably wouldn't be a good idea to go any farther considering Melissa might still be downstairs."
"Melissa's downstairs? Please tell me my door is closed?" She asked and immediately sat up on high alert.
"It's closed, Spence, so I doubt she heard anything if she's still here." I assured her as I sat up as well.
"Thank goodness." She sighed.
"Speaking of Melissa, did you hang out at all today?" I asked her to get her mind off what could have been a disaster if Melissa had come in here.
"Yeah, we had lunch at the club with my mom and dinner with both parents at The Grille. Afterwards we talked in the barn for a little while before I came up here to take a shower. I'm still getting used to it but it's nice to be with Melissa."
"I'm glad you had a good time. It sounds like your day was better than mine. But at least I found some potential evidence against Jenna." I told her.
A few weeks ago, Spencer and Mona made the decision that it was time to stop coming up with theories against Jenna and Garrett. We needed actual proof that they were responsible and that wasn't an easy task.
"Really, like what?"
"The place in Philly where Jenna met her friend made you sign in. It the same place she went to after the fire so I thought maybe I could find something there. I tried to think like you and when the lady at the front desk left I grabbed the logbook for 2009. Garrett not only visited Jenna that day but he signed her out too."
"Toby, you're a genius." She praised me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "This is proof that Jenna was in Rosewood that night. All this time we thought she knew who did it, but she might have actually been there too. But I didn't realize she knew Garrett back then."
"Maybe we weren't the only ones hiding a relationship. And it might be proof that she wasn't where she said she was but how do we know she was in Rosewood?"
"Someone must have seen her. I mean someone saw you talk to Alison that night and you were in the woods right outside the barn." She pointed out.
"I think I know a possibility." I told her. "When Jenna left with Garrett she probably stuck to him like glue. And Garrett was in that club with Jason and Ian. We know all three of them would drink and do stuff together and Jason was stoned that night. Maybe he saw Jenna with Garrett at some point during the night."
"He might've, but he can barely remember anything about that night." She sort of agreed. "And don't you think he would have said something if he did?"
"Well, he might not think anything of it. Who would suspect a blind girl of hitting another girl in the head with a shovel? Plus, he thinks Ian is the one that did it and he doesn't know anything about what we're up to."
"Those are good points." She admitted. "I feel weird about asking him though. It's not really a touchy subject but you can't just bring it up out of the blue."
"That's okay, I understand. For all we know Garrett could end up turning on Jenna. He might just tell us himself what happened that night."
"Wait what? Why would he do that?" She asked me completely puzzled.
"Garrett and Jenna got in another fight. But this time I know for sure what it was about. She broke up with him yesterday." I informed her. "He's been calling her like crazy and left a couple of angry voicemails. He even came by the house today before we left and was mad when she wouldn't talk to him."
"When is Jenna having her eye surgery again?" She asked and I wasn't sure why.
"It's in about two weeks." I told her and then it dawned on me. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I think so. Jenna seems pretty confident that this is going to work and she'll be able to see again. And if it does…"
"She won't need Garrett anymore." I finished her sentence.
"If he's as angry as you say he is, he might be willing to throw Jenna under the bus. Do you think he'd talk to you if you asked him some questions?"
"He might, I don't know. But it's worth a shot."
"Are you sure? I don't want you to do something that could make you a target." She asked with concern.
"Don't worry about me, Spence. What's the worst that could happen? I suddenly get framed for Ian's murder? Well, I have a solid alibi for that night. I was with you at Emily's swim meet, afterwards we went to The Grille with everyone, and then I took you home." I assured her as best I could.
"This is Jenna we're talking about, anything could happen." She argued.
"But she'll be leaving for Boston in two weeks and I don't know how long we'll be gone for. If she doesn't have Garrett she's can't do anything to you or the others while she's in a different state. And she won't do anything to me with our parents there."
"Remind me again why you have to go." She sighed.
"Because the doctor said she should have family there for support. And our parents always go the extra mile when it comes to taking care of her needs. So they're taking off work to go and I'm expected to go too since I'm part of the family."
"That's a bunch of bull. They never treat you like a part of the family except when it's convenient for them."
"I know. That's why I want my own place. But I don't want to talk about my family or Jenna anymore."
"Okay," She nodded. "So when do you think you'll have enough money to get a place of your own?"
"I hope to have enough by the summer." I replied. "I heard a rumor that the owner of that awful coffee shop is thinking of selling. If the new owner plans on fixing it up I could probably help out and get enough money to rent the loft above it."
"I forgot there was an apartment above the place. I wonder how long it's been since it was last rented out."
"Oh, it's been awhile. I've heard stories that people sneak in there to hook up."
"Well, I hope the rumor is true." She said sincerely before teasingly adding on the next sentence. "If things work out it would be convenient for you to live above a coffee shop."
"I would be convenient for both myself and my caffeine-addicted girlfriend. And did you just admit to hoping for something?" I teased back.
"You're lucky I like you." She frowned.
"Like me?" I asked in feigned astonishment. "Well, Miss Hastings, I happen to more than like you."
"I like you better than coffee. And that's a lot coming from me." She told me.
"I know it, and I consider it a privilege to come before coffee."
"Now you're definitely teasing me. If you keep this up maybe I'll only visit the coffee shop and not you if you live upstairs." She stated folding her arms in front of her.
"Okay, I'll stop." I gave in.
"Wise choice, Toby." She laughed.
"Want to know what would be another wise choice?" I asked her. "This,"
I leaned in to kiss her and she returned it. Things quickly got back to the way they were before Spencer got worried about Melissa. Most of my day had been pretty unpleasant to say the least but this, being with Spencer right now, made up for all of it.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for leaving more reviews last chapter, keep it up! Next chapter has two flashbacks. It's been a while since I've done that. And you'll find out the mystery of what Toby was working in chapter 29. So I hope you all are excited!
